Henrietta Howard was an architectural patron whose wealth attracted Charles Howard (1675-1733), third son of the Earl of Suffolk. They married on 2 March 1706. As Mrs Howard she won the approval of the dowager Electress Sophia of Hanover, following the accession of whose son as George I of Great Britain on 1 August 1714, she was appointed Woman of the Bedchamber to the Princess of Wales. By 1717 she was separated from her husband and as Countess of Suffolk became the mistress of the Prince of Wales, afterwards George II (1683-1760).

Between 1724 and 1729 Marble Hill House, Twickenham, was built for her in the newly fashionable Palladian style, under the supervision of Roger Morris, with gardens laid out by Charles Bridgeman. It features distantly in the various versions of Wilson's painting, P89 The Thames near Marble Hill, Twickenham. The countess continued to extend the estate and make changes to the house, including the construction of a cottage where her extensive porcelain collection was displayed. She bought paintings and a large number of architectural studies for it. In later life she was befriended by Horace Walpole, who shared her interest in architecture and contributed ideas to a Gothic farm at Marble Hill, called the Priory of St Hubert.